


The Flourishing Sun Project

by RoseusJaeger



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types, Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID-, Nitro+Chiral fandom, Togainu no Chi
Genre: A bit Aoba-centric through out, After-story in a sense to the N+C games, Characters that should be dead in canon are alive for plot sake, Crossover, Dystopia, Kissing, M/M, Rated mostly for language and maybe some sexual situations, Sweet Pool characters mentioned, Tagging as I go, Weird Plot, probably angst and feels later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-05-26 04:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6224050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseusJaeger/pseuds/RoseusJaeger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Just as it seemed impossible, peace has finally been achieved. At least for now, everyone has returned to their normal lives. After World War 3, a civil war and the destruction of Platinum Jail, it seems like both mainland Japan and Midorijima have finally reached a resting period before perhaps more trouble would brew. A new island nation, by the name of Sisa, mysteriously appeared near Midorijima a year and a half after Platinum Jail fell."<br/>"Out of all the destruction of the years past, the government now seeks to fix the mistakes it has made. To start, the Flourishing Sun Project was founded. The goal is to make sure all people ages 15 to 29 had access to an education and therapy."</p>
<p>What if all the Nitro+Chiral characters existed in the same universe? Maybe not in a 100% canon form(characters that should be canonically dead are alive and a couple characters are a bit OoC, for example), but in an AU where they all can interact.<br/>What if they all went to college together and ended up forming their own social circle? Like, discussing their life experiences with each other, going out to clubs, studying together, confiding with each other about their powers and maybe discussing their lewd experiences as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note: Welcome to the my first attempt at fan fiction in awhile(as in years) and may feel like a stream of consciousness a lot of the time. This fic is the result of bingeing Nitro+Chiral games for weeks, my late night thoughts before bed that are complete crack and the ideas I thought of while doing my college literature project; believe it or not, my teacher let me use Nitro+Chiral games as my project topic of dystopia examples and how they're a warning for our own societies.  
> I noticed a lot of similarities between all the games when it came to dystopia themes and comparing qualities that the protagonists all have in common (other than them all being the “uke squad”). I'm writing this at like 4am and I need sleep but I also need to get what I can down on virtual paper. So naturally, this is unbeta'd and probably has mild grammar errors.  
> The first thought that led to this being written: What if all the N+C characters existed in the same universe? Maybe not in a 100% canon form(characters that should be canonically dead are alive and a couple characters are a bit OoC, for example), but in an AU where they all can interact.  
> The second thought: What if they all went to college together and ended up forming their own social circle? Like, discussing their life experiences with each other, going out to clubs, studying together, confiding with each other about their powers and maybe discussing their lewd experiences as well with each other (Aoba would definitely have some tales to tell when it comes to sexual partners, haha). Maybe even having such lewd experiences with each other * smirks *.  
> I hope the brief description on how this AU works in the prologue was helpful. This fic is a bit based off an idea I have for a BL game of my own as well, so this is also a test of what I need to improve in my writing for the final project.  
> Okay, enough chatter from me or this will be longer than the actual fic.  
> Without further a do, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to comment. All I ask is that the comments are constructive. Hopefully, this isn't too long or too short either and I admit the ending is a little abrupt.

Prologue

Just as it seemed impossible, peace has finally been achieved. At least for now, everyone has returned to their normal lives. After World War 3, a civil war and the destruction of Platinum Jail, it seems like both mainland Japan and Midorijima have finally reached a resting period before perhaps more trouble would brew. A new island nation, by the name of Sisa, mysteriously appeared near Midorijima a year and a half after Platinum Jail fell.  
An extraordinary discovery of a race of cat-like people has now forced the world to open its' eyes to the reality of other humanoids and has given birth to a new breed of racism towards the Sisian people. Even then, this newly discovered race are mainly left alone by the world community out of fear and the sight of these 'cats' is rare outside of their own nation. Japan claimed the area of Sisa as part of their nation since it is closest to them. The 'cats' themselves are un-nerved by the fact that the once thought to be extinct “Two-Canes” are actually indeed still alive and well. Missionaries were the first to arrive in Sisa as they try to introduce this land to the technology of the mainland. Since many of the natives were not too keen on the idea of reforming their island because of their stories of the “Two-Canes”, the cats that wanted to live among the human race were given transportation off Sisa to Midorijima then to the mainland if they wanted. Luckily, not many wanted to leave Sisa so there were no open complaints from the public about taking in immigrants.  
The cats that did leave were usually fighters, merchants or village exiles in search for adventure. The fighters found refuge in games such as Bl@ster, Rhyme and Ribsteez to earn a living and fight for prizes. They were also more socially accepted since all that mattered in these communities is the ability to fight. Rumors of the past death game, Igura, still hung in the air of the communities like the rot of a corpse despite the intentions of the game never returning. It served as a cautionary tale for new players and old players.  
Out of all the destruction of the years past, the government now seeks to fix the mistakes it has made. To start, the Flourishing Sun Project was founded. The goal is to make sure all people ages 15 to 29 had access to an education and therapy. With many of the youth in the main land being emotionally damaged from botched attempts of the past to create families after WW3, the therapy was deemed necessary in order to restore a mentally-well population and give the youth hope for a better future. For now, the therapy is based of groups of four. Four people, usually of the same gender, are put together to discuss their past among peers and hope that this would help them until they could see their bi-weekly counselor. It's not the best system since the amount of therapists available is limited and many are on a waiting list longer than two weeks in order to see a therapist. The next step is funding for education. To make things simpler, most new students are given a brand-new coil to aid their studies and to be able to turn in assignments online. This reduced the need for students to physically attend class.  
Otherwise, life seems to have returned to normal, at least as normal as it is going to get.

\-----------------------------------

After two years, Aoba still works at the junk shop he always has worked at. He sits at his usual position at the counter and waits for a customer to arrive or a phone call to come in. He is typing on his coil, bored as he is finishing an assignment. He had recently enrolled in some classes at the new university that had been built inside where Platinum Jail used to reside. Lately, most of his classes have been online and convenient for him since work has either made it too difficult schedule-wise to go to classes or he simply doesn't feel like making the effort to travel to go to his classes.  
He wouldn't have bothered to even enroll in the classes if they weren't being paid for and if no one he knew was enrolling as well. Koujaku decided that a few classes in business management would help him out with his salon and Ren joined to just be by Aoba. He wasn't sure if Noiz was participating since he was a citizen of another country but Aoba knew he qualified since he was caught up with the trouble caused by Toue. Mink disappeared, so he figures he's not going to bother with it and Clear isn't even human so he doesn't need to go to the classes. Clear still visits the shop though, so it's not like he is completely gone. Aoba does feel lonely sometimes though, mostly due to not sharing many classes with Koujaku and Ren.  
Ren had decided to take technology classes and math classes. They shared one class on the application of mathematics in programming but that was about it. They didn't share any of Aoba's literature and art classes. Why did he choose art classes? It was because after his first meeting with his required counseling sessions, it was decided that he should have some kind of creative outlet to express his feelings that he's supposedly repressed. Also, the animation class he's taking is actually quite fun despite one of his project partners being a jerk.  
The jingling of the bell for the shop door catches his attention in the middle of finishing a sentence. He looks up to see the familiar face of Ren, wearing his lop-sided shirt and with a usual still face of coming back from his own physical therapy. He had gone alone today because the shop was busy when he had to leave. Aoba smiles upon seeing him.  
“Hey.”  
Ren returns the smile, “Hey.”  
“How was therapy?” Aoba asked.  
“It was okay. Did the shop get really busy after I left?”  
Aoba shakes his head to answer him. It was peaceful once the crowd looking for the new parts had gone.  
“That's good. You ready for the trip later?” Ren inquires with a concerned look.  
Aoba remembers. He almost forgot about the class meet-up. Specifically, it is to gathering to be put into group therapy. He had yet to be put into a group and it wasn't something he was too enthused about meeting new people.  
“Not really. You know how I feel about being social lately...” Aoba sighs.  
He nods, “Indeed... I can try and join you so you're not completely with strangers,”  
Aoba half-smiles, “I would appreciate that.” Ren smiles again in response. After an hour or two, his shift ends and he goes home to get his bag before going off to the meeting.

 

A new rail system had been built between Japan and Midorijima as well. To accommodate the influx of students needing to travel to and from the main land and the islands, it was built with the help of funding from allied countries. Discussion on whether a railway to Sisa should be built was still in the works due to the cautious nature of the 'cats'. Aoba thought it was a bit amusing to see Ren's reactions to the idea of cat people existing. It's not like Ren had any prejudices towards cats and cat people but he certainly was awkward around them due to the time he spent as an dog all-mate. On the train ride, Aoba had to stop himself from chuckling a few times because of the faces Ren made as he was observing one of the 'cats' that was on board.  
The 'cat' looked very uncomfortable on the packed train and possibly looked familiar from a class. He had light cream ears with ginger tips, a similar colored tail with a crooked tip that he wrapped around himself, slightly under a gray hoodie to keep people from stepping on it. People occasionally gave him weird looks. Aoba felt a little bad for him because he could imagine the troubles he must face trying to adapt to life outside of his homeland.  
The 'cat' noticed them staring and glares at them a bit. While Aoba looks away, Ren still stares back. The 'cat's' tail flicks in irritation but he doesn't say anything to Ren. Thus, that's what the whole ride consisted of. His best friend and the stranger glaring at each other as he himself stared out window and watched the ocean horizon pass by.  
The second they could un-board the train, the stranger put up his hood, blended into the crowd of the bustling train station and disappeared from their sights. It's dusk now, so now the sky looked like it's being slowly painted a dark blue to eventually black with barely visible white specks scattered across the sky.  
Ren muttered to Aoba, “What a weirdo...”  
Aoba snorted a bit, “In what way?”  
“Just... he's odd.”  
“I could say the same for you since you stared at the poor man the whole time.” Aoba said in a kind of disappointed voice. The kind of judging voice you give when you don't approve of someone's actions.  
Ren looks away a bit, sensing his disappointment.  
Aoba sighs, “Look, it's fine. Just try not to do that again. Maybe I should introduce you to more cats to get you used to them~.” He teases him a bit and it earns him an eye roll from his friend. The two of them move out of the station into the busy streets of the city.  
This city they're in is called Akamizu, a new city that was built from the remnants of another city. Aoba was actually comfortable here because of how much it reminded him of his home city. Bright lights, tall buildings and a grungy, urban feeling of cautious streets and traffic. The difference here is that turf wars and tagging from fighting games is almost non-existent. Bl@ster is the main game here, hidden away from the main streets in the alleyways. The teams aren't as aggressive as they used to be.  
Thankfully, the two aren't here for the back alley entertainment. They must try and locate the meeting place for the university students. He starts up his coil and researches the address again. It's only a few blocks away at a small convention center that now belongs to the university.  
“Not far, is it?” Ren inquired.  
“It's not far, thank goodness.”  
They head for the direction of the center and start to notice classmates and professors from their classes. They relax because they know they've found the right place. Upon entering, it's a very open area with probably about 100 tables just big enough for four people to sit around and talk. A lady with a clipboard gets their attention and gets their student numbers.  
Aoba, “Um, ma'am? How is this going to work?”  
The lady says, “The sorting? Oh, you'll just be guided to tables at random.”  
“So, no forming groups from the beginning?”  
The lady nods, “Yeah, sorry. We want to promote the ability to share emotionally by not restricting people to sharing among their peers.”  
Both Aoba and Ren wanted to call bullshit on that ideology but said nothing. The lady tells them to feel free to wander around until the event organizers are ready to start sorting people. They walk away from the lady before Ren mutters, “Well, that puts a dent in our plans to stay together.”  
“Yeah, no shit...”  
Aoba briefly sees and hears the same lady telling another another small group the same news. The group consists of four people. A silver-haired man with a jacket rimmed with faux fur around the collar, a brown-haired man with blue coveralls, a serene-looking tall blonde that seemed to have a fire brewing on the inside or could have easily fooled him with fake kindness and a man in a wheelchair that has the most intense eyes that Aoba had ever seen in his life. They were pure red. Aoba had to look away when the man noticed him looking and ever so slightly looked up to meet his gaze. Ren tenses a bit protectively at the reaction Aoba made. The man looked away again and back to the floor, as if lost in thought. The one with silver hair glares a bit as if as a warning but relaxes soon after when he determines they're not a threat.  
Soon, the event organizers start to put people into groups. Aoba lets them guide him to a random table covered by a white cloth. He sighs as Ren is taken across the center to a far off table where they soon can't see each other. He decides to stare at the table cloth until anyone else arrives at the table.  
Movement catches his eye and he looks up to see who has gathered at his table. To his surprise, it's the 'cat' from the train. He looks a bit on edge and stares at Aoba for a couple seconds before speaking.  
“... You're the guy from the train...”  
He looks away, “Yeah, I am...”  
“Your friend needs to learn not to stare. By the way, you have nice hair.” The 'cat' smiles.  
Aoba gazes to him in surprise, unconsciously touching his long locks, “Thank you.”  
The 'cat' sits almost across from him with ease now, “What's your name?”  
“Serageki Aoba... you?”  
The cat replies, “Konoe.” He suddenly looks to the side and his tail sways in curiosity as a new-comer joins them at the table. It's the silver-haired man from before and the man in the wheelchair. The man in the wheelchair seems to be asleep. The silver-haired one positions the wheelchair so he looks natural at the table. He's quiet yet tense.  
Konoe speaks first, “Hello there.”  
“... Hey. I assume we're waiting for someone else?”  
Aoba is kind of observing the red-eyed man asleep as he answers, “I guess...”  
An event organizer sits with them. He has white hair and a name tag that says Naitou on it. The organizer says, “So we're all here except for one. Youji is sick and can't attend, but you'll see him next time. In the meantime, get acquainted.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter - The “uke squad” plus Naitou minus Youji, get acquainted, discover they've been through some shit after sharing a summary of their life stories and exchange coil numbers before deciding to go to Midorijima and hang out for a few hours after group therapy. Also, an appearance of Mizuki. (In other words, mostly a plot development chapter before the story actually gets started.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment or yell at me about writing on Tumblr at roseus-jaeger.tumblr.com   
>  Thank you for the kudos so far, I hope to provide quality reading.  
>  Normally, I don't post chapters often. So to be able to post a ch.2 so quick is an amazing feat for me. I'm sorry if this seems to turn into a stream of consciousness at times or seems too long or short at parts. I'm terrible at past/present/future tense consistency despite trying to stay in the present tense. I make awful attempts at humor, too. I kinda ended it abruptly again.  
>  I mostly get my inspiration to write late at night and then forget/am too lazy to edit it later on. If someone ever translates the Chiral Cafe Drama CDs or if I find a good translation, I'll be sure to use it to research how the characters canonly interact with each other.  
>  Please enjoy.
> 
> By the way, F.S.P means Flourishing Sun Project if a character says it.

Minutes of awkward silence pass between the four sitting at the bland plastic table. The event organizer with them, Naitou, seemed to not pay attention to them as he chowed down on some jerky he had in his pocket. He seemed to be writing or drawing on his clipboard and this for some reason pricked at Aoba's nerves. Wasn't he supposed to be initiating conversation with them? Aoba looks at the others at their table and sees the guy named Akira tending to his wheel-chaired companion, who is still blissfully asleep. He seems to be moving his hair out of his face. The 'cat', Konoe, is examining his own hand. He is checking his nails as his tail sways slowly in concentration.  
While keeping his irritation in check, he asks the organizer, “So, what do we do?”  
The snow-haired organizer shrugs and replies, “Just, introduce yourselves. I'm only here to supervise.”  
He sighs, “Could you at least get us started?”  
Naitou rolls his eyes, “Fine... Hey, cat boy and leather jacket.” They look up from their actions and he continues, “Starting with me, then going on to Blueberry Head here, you're going to say your name, class year and an interesting fact about yourself.”  
Aoba glares, “What the fuck did you just call-”  
Naitou interrupts him, “My name is Naitou. I'm a university senior and I enjoy playing bass guitar.” His amber eyes shift back Aoba. “Your turn.” Akira and Konoe are a bit tense from the anger radiating off the blue-haired man.  
Aoba almost growls because he's so ruffled, “... My name is Seragaki Aoba, I'm a freshman and used to be a Rhyme player.” His eyes don't leave Naitou since he's so pissed. Naitou almost smirks but refrains as he looks to the man who was attending to his friend, “Your turn now.”  
“... I'm Akira and I'm a sophomore. I used to be a Bl@ster champion and now work commissioned jobs in Ribsteez and Rhyme. I'm basically a professional fighter...” He is slightly looking away as he speaks, a bit reluctant and his gaze then turns to the 'cat'.  
The 'cat' swallows and quickly says, “I'm Konoe. I'm what you call a freshman and I lived in Sisa before coming here...” Then there's more awkward silence between the four before Konoe is the first to speak again, “Um, Akira? If you don't mind me asking, who is that with you?”  
A bit tense and lightly staring back, Akira slowly replies, “His name is Shiki... He had a mental breakdown and now I care for him.”  
Konoe and Aoba frown at that.  
“I'm sorry I asked.” Konoe's ears fold down in his own regret.  
Akira sighs, “It's fine, it was bound to be asked...” He adverts his gaze to see if Shiki has woken up or not only to reveal he is still resting. He kind of envies how he can relax to easily and how deep a sleeper he is at times.  
“This is supposed to be group therapy, right? Are we really supposed to tell our life stories?” He says this with a bit of spite towards Naitou. The response he gets is a shoulder shrug and the words, “If it makes you feel better, then yeah. Otherwise, this could be a study group for all I care. I'm only here to make sure you actually come to the meetings and interact in some way.” As if to irritate Aoba more than he did earlier, Naitou starts checking his coil without a care in the world. Everyone now feels awkward or annoyed.  
In response to the hostility towards him, Naitou rolls his eyes and sits up, “Look, this is part of my required volunteer work and I could care less what you guys talk about. All I know is that the university put you all together is because your applications displayed info that suggests you might all get along and help each other emotionally. That's their logic. I think it's bullshit and I would rather be at home playing my bass right now.” He turns away from them... then Konoe speaks up.  
“You're really tired, aren't you?”  
Not expecting that, they all turn to Konoe. The 'cat' tenses at the eyes on him but he continues, “I c-can tell by the way you carry yourself. You look and sound like you need sleep.” Akira and Aoba examine Naitou more and then realize he's right. Naitou looks exhausted.   
The white-haired man snorts, “You're not wrong. I've been cramming for my calculus midterm.”  
Akira smirks, “Must suck. I have to finish up my trigonometric ratios worksheets by the end of the week.”  
Aoba chuckles, “I've been up late reading to catch up in Lit. class.”  
Konoe, “I'm glad I'm mostly in art classes and a photography class or I'd be as tired as you guys.”  
Akira, “What are you talking about? The one art class I have is a bitch to get through.”  
After checking something on the clipboard, Naitou comments, “Your online 3-D model animation class?”  
“Yeah, that one. The person I'm supposed to collaborate with keeps changing the rigging on my models without asking and it's pissing me off.”  
Aoba looks interested and wary, “3-D animation? Are you listed as 'Lost' as your username?”  
The look in Akira's eyes turns into one of disbelief and asks in return, “You're 'Sly Blue'?” He nods and says matter-of-factly, “Your rigging doesn't flow properly and the bones look off.”  
The silver haired man glares, almost offended, “I see... I need to talk to you later.” Aoba nods in agreement and kind of already knows an argument is pending due to two weeks being spent on correcting the mistakes 'Lost' kept making. Akira takes a deep breath in and out to let out the frustration of finally meeting the person messing up his progress.  
More awkward silence fills the space... until Aoba speaks up, “Is it okay if I get something off my chest?”  
They all nod and Naitou says, “Go ahead, everything said here stays between us.”  
“Alright...” He closes his eyes a bit to think of where to even start...  
“Since everyone here has a story of how they ended up in the Flourishing Sun Project, I'll begin with when I was a kid. You guys won't judge, right? A lot of weird things have happened to me.” He rubs the back of his neck, nervous.  
Konoe says, “I don't think any of us are in a position to judge.” Akira nods to that statement. Naitou is tempted to say he doesn't care but refrains.  
He half-smiles, “I guess you're right... So, let's begin...”

Even though he was nervous they wouldn't believe him, he told them about the earliest memories he has of being in an orphanage by the sea and about the 'voices' he had in his head. He tells them about meeting his parents and how he was reunited with Tae, his grandmother. Akira had asked how he knew Tae before the orphanage and explained quickly that he was 'born' where she worked as a researcher. Despite being uncomfortable at the mention of researchers, Akira nodded and allowed him to continue. Konoe listens, engaged.   
He continued on about how his parents left and how it affected him emotionally... then he confesses, “So... one of the 'voices' took over my body for awhile. I have amnesia of the time but from what I know is that during that time I was really good at Rhyme. Undefeated, even. I used to have a power before Platinum Jail was destroyed that allowed me to enters peoples' minds...” He gauges their reaction at that.  
Konoe blinks a bit in confusion, he is following along though. Akira is a bit surprised and comments, “Really... Platinum Jail was that place that was trying to develop mind control, right?” He seems intrigued in a concerned way. Aoba simply nods. Naitou raises an eyebrow but it doesn't seem to be questioning him. He also notices that Akira's companion, Shiki, is awake and listening.   
Taking that as a positive sign and a bit tense from the crow-haired man's doll-like gaze, he continues, “Yeah, it's strange... I was apart of the group that destroyed that place, believe it or not... I definitely haven't told you the whole story, but to wrap it up, I've been working and when the F.S.P started I only joined because I was bored and feeling lost on what to do with my life. I wouldn't mind working at the junk shop the rest of my life but I want know that I have other options, ya know? In case... I meet someone and want to support them.” He looks down at the table, not really wanting to say anything else.  
“I understand that feeling... feeling lost.” Akira has a softer look than before as he says that. Aoba snorts but he's glad someone empathizes. Konoe is similar in facial expression, understanding.  
“Well, that's the basics of why I'm here. What about you guys?”  
The other two look reluctant to speak so Naitou says, “I'll just pick one of the two of you at random if you don't decide who is gonna speak... unless you really have no real reason for being apart of F.S.P.” This earned a frown from Konoe and a glare from Akira.  
With a twitch of his crooked tail, Konoe speaks, “I'll tell something... but since my story is pretty crazy, I'll stick to the basics.”   
Once he was sure the rest were listening, he told his tale of how he lived in Karou, the Sickness and the tradition of sacrifices in his hometown. Both Akira and Aoba are genuinely shocked since not much word is said in the news about Sisa or the mysterious cat people. The first question asked, and Aoba feels dumb for asking it, “So... you don't have coils or anything like that in Sisa?”  
Konoe chuckles, “Of course not. Not until recently. We're barely getting electricity thanks to the Two Canes-” He stops himself at using the phrase, especially since he was told by the customs officer before being allowed off Sisa that it's apparently offensive. He's expecting backlash but only get confused and curious looks from all of them.   
“Um, what does Two Canes mean?” Akira asks.  
“You don't know?” He looks at all of them and they all shake their head. Even Naitou, who says, “Explain.”  
His ears twitch in thought, “It's what Sisians call humans... it's because in our legends, the god Two Cane was a human. Our race descended from humans and it's said that we are reincarnated as humans when we die... since our world expanded, I'm not sure myself if that's true.”  
Intrigued, Aoba says, “You should tell us about Sisian folklore sometime. The media is really clueless about you guys, apparently. They portray you as mindless animals sometimes.”   
Konoe snorts and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, don't get me started on the racism I've seen... but anyway...” He tells more of his story. He leaves out the devils, the mysterious markings that appeared on his body and magic-related things since he has discovered how inattentive humans are to magic anymore. If he was to tell them the whole ordeal with him being born a vessel for the sorcerer Leaks' emotions, he is certain they'd think he's crazy. The same can be said if he explained how he was a Sanga. Even if Aoba's story was sketchy, it matched what he heard in the news about Platinum Jail and about some other organization he couldn't remember the name of.  
He talks about having to leave his village because he was next to be sacrificed. He talks about meeting Rai, Asato and Bardo with a fondness in his tone, “So, we stayed at inn... I don't really know much else to say. I lived there for awhile and I was on the run.” The others had a feeling he wasn't telling the whole story. Even then, they were just fascinated about hearing about Konoe's world. It was something out of a fantasy novel or an anime, as Aoba thought. The vivid descriptions of his homeland made Akira yearn to one day visit this land.   
Feeling the awkwardness return, he finished his story, “There was an earthquake... as if the ocean was shaking the world. When it was over, so much was destroyed and within days the Two Canes- I mean humans showed up... I don't know of it's just coincidence, but it was strange. I decided to leave Sisa a few months later and come here. It was a long process. I'm still learning your language. We may speak similarly but your written language is much more complicated than anything back home...” He looks at them with pride. “I joined F.S.P so I could learn to live among humans. I felt like I needed to escape my past and I'm curious about you. I have tolerated all the hate and struggles so far and I want to start a new life.” He has a smile on his face and it gives the rest of them an brief uplifted feeling. Konoe looks to Akira, “You have a story to tell?”  
Akira looks away with almost a smirk, “Oh boy, you better be ready for a story and a half if you want me to fully share.”  
Naitou chuckles, “From your university forms, you're an ex-CFC resident?”  
“You seem to check our forms a lot...”  
He shrugs, “It's part of the job I was given... to make sure you guys are actually interacting or some shit.”  
“More like an invasion of privacy.” Aoba responded a bit spiteful.  
“You're not wrong.” Naitou agrees.  
Akira continues, “Yeah, I'm from the CFC. I used to be a Bl@ster champion. I can safely say everything went to hell when I got falsely accused of murder.” He makes sure they're listening before saying, “I was ready for life in prison at that point but then this woman came and gave me an offer to redeem myself...”  
Akira told them about Emma's offer. In order to be released of his charges and gain his freedom, he had to go to Toshima, join the murder game of Igura and defeat Il Re. Konoe just listens with a bit of misunderstanding because he doesn't know what Igura is.   
Aoba, on the other hand, knows what it is. It wasn't just the very brief news reports on the internet that he knew about. He had heard stories while he was spending time with Koujaku and Mizuki. Ribsteez followed news from Bl@ster teams sometimes and Koujaku had been to the main land before. When Mizuki spoke of Igura, it was with ignorance and curiosity of what he had been told by fellow Ribsters. When Koujaku spoke of it, he would turn dark and wary. He even got so angry at Mizuki for making a off-color joke about wanting to try it out to see how tough they were that he almost started a fist fight with him. After that, Igura was a forbidden topic around Koujaku. Aoba can only imagine what happened to make Koujaku so upset about mentioning the game, so he was intent on listening to Akira. He wants to know more about what traumatized his childhood friend.   
Unconsciously, Akira's hand moves to hold Shiki's still one. There's not any sign of movement other than the shifting of his eyes to look at his caregiver. Continuing, he tells them about Keisuke following him to Toshima, meeting Rin and Motomi and his first encounter with Shiki. The others of the table don't doubt his claim of Shiki's ex-ruthlessness. He also tells them them about his power in his blood that he discovered, about how it affected people who had taken the drug Line.   
Naitou had raised his hand and Akira asked him, “Yeah?”  
“Let me guess, you're an experiment from the government testing?” Naitou sounded almost amused at his own guess.  
With a sigh, Akira replies, “Yeah, I am...” No one comments and he squeezes the hand he's holding before finishing, “So... Keisuke was on Line for awhile. I got into a fight with him and he was exposed to my blood. I don't know what really happened to him while I was gone... Shiki had taken me and...” He goes quiet and a hardened look appears on his face as he recalls what the red-eyed man had done to him. It brought back a feeling of sickness to his stomach and made his mind scream at him to stop thinking about it. The others notice and Aoba asks, “A-Are you okay?”  
Akira doesn't respond, shaking a bit and taking deep breaths in order to calm down. Konoe bites his lip and cautiously places a hand on Akira's back, slowly rubbing in circles. He almost rejects the hand on his back, not expecting the gesture.   
Once he's calm, he answers Aoba, “Kind of... so... I spent awhile with Shiki before the raid on Toshima happened. Emma revealed herself. Turns out the whole plan to send me to Toshima had nothing to do with Il Re and it was to lure out some guy named Nano because my blood counteracted the drug he made.” He sounds extremely bitter now with a sarcastic smile, “What a load of bullshit, right?” The rest of the table makes nods or snorts in agreement to match his sarcasm.   
“Luckily, I escaped Toshima that day through the sewers. I reunited with Shiki first, then Keisuke... It took a couple of months to get settled in a new city and then Shiki just, stopped. He stopped wanting to get out of bed and would refuse to eat at first. Keisuke has helped me keep financially afloat while I spend most of my time caring for him...” He grits his teeth, tears threatening to fall, “I-I just want to move forward. It's so hard. I thought I was settled with just the three of us and then suddenly Rin returned, wanting Shiki dead. I just came to terms with everything that happened to me and now my friends want to kill each other.” He pounds a fist on the table, making Konoe flinch away from him and startles Aoba and Naitou.   
“Just... I wanted to die at times but I know I can't do that when people are counting on me. When the F.S.P started, I joined so I could maybe get that peace of mind back. Knowledge is power, they say. After years of my past haunting me, I want to try and break free.” With that, he lets go of the hand he was holding and checks his coil for the time, “It's almost time to leave.”  
Naitou checks and says, “Yeah, you guys can all go if you want. ”  
“Really?” inquired Aoba.  
“Yeah, really. Damn, that was some heavy shit you dropped on us. Akira, I need a drink after that story.”  
Akira 'tsks' and stands, ready to leave.  
Konoe, “Hold on, we should exchange coil numbers.”  
Akira, “Why?”  
“So we can talk later. After everything we talked about here, it's kind of weird not to want to try to be friends, right? I don't want to have just told my life story and then never talk to you guys again.” Konoe gives them expectant looks, his coil screen up and ready to type in their numbers. Aoba agrees, giving his number to Konoe. He smiles back at Aoba.  
“Just don't spam me.” Aoba chuckles.  
Akira smirks, “I might as well give you my number, I don't care if you spam as long as you know I might be slow to respond.” Konoe puts in Akira's number once he's told it.  
“Aw hell,” Naitou bursts out, “I had to listen to all those heavy stories, I want into the pity party, too.”   
Aoba is almost angry again, but instead challenges him, “I don't know, you don't seem to have a tragic back story...”   
“Oh fuck you, I just want in on your impromptu friendship.”  
Konoe rolls his eyes, “I don't know about those two, but I'll let you be in my contacts even though you're a bit rude.”   
After some shuffling around, they manage to give each other their numbers. Just as they were about to separate, Akira gets a call on his coil. He sees it's Keisuke and answers, “What?”  
“Akira, where are you? You guys should have been done fifteen minutes ago.”  
“We exchanged coil numbers, where are you?”  
“Um...” Keisuke sounds nervous, “Rin got impatient waiting for you and dragged me off with him and his new friend to Midorijima to hang out. His name is Mizuki. He owns a tattoo shop or something and is paying for our drinks. We're on the train right now.”  
He almost face-palms, “... I thought you had homework tonight.”  
“Weeeell, I do but I'm actually having a good time with Rin's friend. Can you meet up with us?”  
After hearing a familiar name, Aoba kind of eavesdrops. Konoe is getting ready to leave. Akira sighs, “I can meet you but I can't drink with Shiki with me.” He hears a load groan from Rin at the mention of Shiki, “And can we talk later? I have the other people with me.”  
Rin yells in the background, “Just invite them with you! You had to have at least met one interesting person out of that group.” Keisuke scolds Rin for yelling on the train.  
He sighs and looks up at the others, “Um... you guys want to hang out with my friends for awhile?”  
They consider it and respond. Konoe, “Sure, I got nothing better to do.”  
Aoba, “Yeah, since I know Mizuki, I'll join you.”  
Naitou, “Why not? Just buy me a shot and I'll come.”  
He sighs and says to Keisuke, “Yeah, they'll join us. Just be sure that we leave before the last trains leave, okay?”  
“Sure thing! I'll send you the address.”

-...-

The train ride to Midorijima goes smoothly. Aoba reunited with Ren on the way to the train and Ren just simply avoids eye contact with Konoe after Aoba recommends that to him. Akira is often checking his coil and seems a bit stuck in thought over something. Naitou put on his headphones and is listening to music the whole ride. Apparently, Ren was in the group with Akira's friend, Keisuke, and they ended up talking about recent Rhyme and Bl@ster battles. Ren confessed he just sat there awkwardly and listened. Aoba pats him on the back and assures him that that's alright. Ren notices that Konoe is listening in on them because one of his ears has rotated in their direction despite looking out the window and also checking something on his own coil. It bothers him a little and he's not sure why, other than the invasion of privacy. He can figure that he must have heightened hearing compared to everyone else.  
It's dark out now, but the light of the train and the light of the island in the distance make it seem like the world is wide awake. They arrive in the station on the island without much incident other than an uneven ramp landing that made it difficult to wheel Shiki onto the platform. Being the helpful guy he is, Ren helped so Shiki wouldn't fall out of the chair. The city is filled with colorful luminescence as they make their way through the streets to Mizuki's tattoo shop. Konoe and Aoba are used to it by now but Akira and Naitou aren't used to it in their home cities since most of mainland Japan is rebuilding from the wars. In an alley near their destination, they hear the tell-tale sounds of a Rhyme fight in progress. The streets are not too crowded and Akira isn't as stressed as he was before. Less people means less attention drawn to him and Shiki.  
“Aoba!”  
He looks up to see Mizuki in front of his business, waiting for them.  
“Mizuki! It's been a week or two, hasn't it?”   
“It has. This your therapy group?” He looks over Aoba's shoulder at the others.  
“Yeah.” He introduces, “Guys, this is Mizuki. He owns this tattoo shop and is a good friend of mind. Mizuki, this is Akira, Konoe, Naitou and Shiki.”  
Konoe nods in acknowledgment. Naitou waves a little. Akira, “Nice to meet you.”   
Mizuki gives a smiles, “Pleasure to meet you, come on inside. Drinks are on me, tonight.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol gets involved, leading to more conversation and an almost fist fight. Konoe is too drunk to remember how to get home and ends up staying the night at Aoba's home. Also, the plot begins as Naitou and a close friend meet up after the bar visit and discuss the future. 
> 
> (Also known as “2,900+ words of filler until the plot starts with lazy description and the author gets her shit together now she notices people are actually reading her work” if I was to start naming chapters.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment or yell at me about writing on Tumblr at roseus-jaeger.tumblr.com   
> Thank you for reading. I really appreciate it.  
> Wow, we're at chapter 3. I better pick up the pace a bit and actually introduce plot as well as the beginnings of other “plot”, if you know what I mean. Hopefully the plot isn't as dumb as it could be since my specialty is crack fiction. It took me almost 4 weeks to write this chapter and I'm not proud of that. I need to get my ass in gear. I noticed an interesting phenomenon that happens within fandoms that inspired part of Naitou's back story and the plot for this story. 
> 
> Feel free to comment, any comment helps or provides moral support. For the people who did give me kudos, thank you so much.  
> I've also got a large basket of one-shot ideas in the works to pic from that are more humorous than this fic. I have commissions open for mostly one shots. Blog post related to commissions is here: http://roseus-jaeger.tumblr.com/post/143866520632/roseus-jaegers-fanfiction-commissions
> 
> The outline of this fic is pretty 'work-in-progress' at the moment. It would help if I could write at least 200 words a day without getting distracted and then somehow manage to get 1,000 words down just from half-asleep rambles. I'm trying to make the chapters a little longer by setting word count goals too, because the pacing feels off a bit for me as I go back and read my work. Also, now that I've thought about the plot more, this story may have a bitter ending for what I've thought of.  
> As for the name of the drink that Konoe and Ren have in this chapter, if there's an actual drink out there like it then I wouldn't know. In other words, the name of the drink might already be used for something else. I can't write drunk talking for shit, so enjoy fluently speaking drunks and a lesson to myself to just not write anymore scenes with drunk people.  
> Enough of my rambling.  
> Please enjoy.

The tattoo shop/bar is pretty busy right now and Mizuki is waiting for his shift to start. He makes space for their group at the bar and the bartender takes their order quickly to serve drinks. Recently, a pool table had been added to the bar area so the amount of people lounging around drinking had entertainment and became a makeshift attraction.  
Rin and Keisuke introduce themselves and they all greet each other, happily.   
One of the bars specialties is whiskey infusions. The most popular one is a frozen drink with strawberry juice, caramel swirls and whiskey called “Sweet Fire”. Although he's not usually a fan of alcohol, Aoba orders one of the “Sweet Fire” drinks when Mizuki suggests it and manages to talk Konoe into trying one, too. Akira doesn't get anything except a glass of water with a straw. Naitou orders shots for himself. Rin is ordering himself a daiquiri. Keisuke gets himself water and Ren decides to try the “Sweet Fire” drink as well.  
Mizuki also got them potato chips as a snack. The chips are mostly untouched except by Rin. He decided to chow down on the chips if no one else was. Konoe gets his drink first and sniffs it a bit, inspecting it. He coughs a bit, “S-strong...”  
“You sure about trying it? You didn't have to order it.” Aoba comments.  
“Well... not really, but I'm still gonna try it.”   
Mizuki replies, “I'll finish it if you can't. You're a light weight?”  
He seems offended, “I-I can finish it! I can handle it just fine!” He tries to hide his insecurity about being a light weight by taking a big drink of the sweet drink and shakes his head a bit because of the burn in the back of his throat. Ren sips his own drink once it's served and rolls his eyes at Konoe's antics.  
Aoba sighs, “Don't over do it, you two.”  
Naitou, “I'm probably gonna overdo it, will one of you help me home?”  
Everyone, “No.”  
He gives them all his resting bitch face, “Well aren't you all assholes.”  
Naitou is ignored by the rest and Rin changes the topic as his drink arrives.  
“So, you guys wanna seem some of the pictures I took today?” He starts pulling pictures out of his bag and shows them all anyway. Keisuke snorts since he already saw them earlier. Aoba and Konoe view them up close as Akira and Ren gaze from afar at them. They're mostly pictures from mid-day Akamizu from earlier in the day and the lights of Midorijima's night life... as well as a good amount of selfies. Aoba thinks the ones of Midorijima are really good and Konoe compliments him, “These are actually pretty good.”  
He chuckles, “Glad you think so. I'm majoring in Photography and Film Arts. I think I take too many selfies though!”  
Aoba chuckles a bit now, “At least they're quality photos. I cannot take a good photo to save my life.”  
“You have any I can see?”  
“Not really.” Aoba says.  
He immediately is bored of Aoba and looks to Konoe, interested in his ears, “Oh, you're a cat man? Or... is it offensive for me to call you that?”  
Konoe blinks and then says, “Ah no, you can call me a cat... just please don't call me a furry. It feels weird for me to be referred as that...”  
Rin, “Ah... Can I touch your ears?”  
“Rin, remember boundaries of others. I know you get handsy when you drink.” Akira scolded him. He is having Shiki drink some water through a straw.  
“I haven't even had a sip yet, Akira!” He takes a sip now he mentioned it before continuing, “Well... Can I?”  
He seems unsure about it, sipping his drink more before responding, “Well... I guess so. Just don't pull them.” With Konoe's consent, Rin uses his hand to basically pet him and rub his ears. Konoe resists purring, because it does feel nice.   
“Wow~ so soft.” Rin smiles.   
Akira, “We have a cat at home, don't pester Konoe too much.”  
Rin pulls his hand away and rolls his eyes at Akira. Despite mild disappointment, Konoe accepts having the hand removed. Mizuki gets closer to his blue-headed friend and inquires, “So... You gonna join my Ribsteez team? I can understand if you don't want to start until after midterms, but after that how about it?”  
Aoba shakes his head, “Naw, I won't have the energy after midterms. Also, I don't live that life anymore. I don't see why you keep asking for me to join.”  
“I could get lucky and you'll say yes.”  
He sighs and remembers a bit of information from the meeting, “Hey... You should ask Akira. He does commission work, if you know what that means.” He wasn't exactly sure what commissioned work in a fighting game was but if Akira was somehow doing it then maybe it would be useful to Mizuki.   
He gazes over at Akira, who is now chatting with Keisuke quietly, before answering Aoba with, “Well, commissioned fighters aren't really my style. I want members. Not paid fighters... but the recent turf wars are rough. Ever since Bl@ster came to town, they've been causing a lot strife between my crew. If I find out more about him, I might hire him.”  
“Just ask him.” Mizuki simply nods and leaves him alone to go speak with Akira.  
“Oi, anyone wanna play pool with me?” Naitou is on his fourth shot and is a lot friendlier now he's a bit tipsy and smiling.   
Keisuke, “I'll play!” The two get pool sticks and start a game while everyone gathers closer to watch out of boredom.

-...-

The game ended with Naitou winning and Rin disappointed because he lost his bet with Mizuki over who would win.  
“Dammit, Keisuke. I thought you were good at this game!” Rin rants and Akira sighs because of the implications of the bet involve him. Naitou cheers for himself and has another drink in celebration.  
Keisuke apologizes, “I'm sorry...”   
“Don't be. Rin is the one who was stupid enough to take the bet from this guy.” The gray-haired man replies snarkily.  
“Oh fuck you, Akira.” Rin spits back.  
“Maybe I will, but not right now.” He finishes the glass of water he had and gets another.  
A loud groan comes from the blonde. Aoba pats him on the back, “Mizuki is good at getting what he wants. Good luck with the upcoming fights.”  
“I don't like working for free...” Akira comments.  
“Me neither.” Rin sighs. Mizuki cuts in, “I can pay you guys later if you do a really good job, the bet was just so I could guarantee you'd help.”  
This earns him a weird look and he also has to say, “What? I'm not a complete asshole. I do want to make friends as well as business partners.” This seems to appease the two who are now happy that they might actually get paid .  
Aoba directs his attention to Ren, who is oddly enough talking to Konoe. The cat is pretty tipsy after two drinks and looks irritated. His usually calm friend seems a bit annoyed at whatever Konoe seems to be telling him. Listening in to the two at the bar as he gets a bit closer, he finds out why.  
Konoe, “If you didn't glare at people all the time, maybe people would enjoy your company.”  
“I'm pretty sure I'm fine the way I am... You're just paranoid. I'm not even really looking at you.” Ren stays monotone for his own sake.  
With an angry snort, the response back is, “I don't believe you when it seems every time I felt like someone was staring at me today it turned out to be you. How about just take a picture, huh? Lasts longer and I don't have to stare back at your weird face.”   
The cat is a bit more hostile now since Ren's lack of reaction is pissing him off. What he can't see, but Aoba can, is that behind those calm eyes is a man that has a very low bullshit tolerance when he's been drinking even a little bit.   
“H-Hey, no need to fight-” Before the bluenette can do anything to try to defuse the two, Ren answers back angrily in a raised voice, “Why does it matter? If I want to look in a certain direction, it doesn't matter who's in my line of sight. Even if it's your ugly mug in my way.”  
That seems to push Konoe off the edge of his anger threshold and manages to alert those around them. His clawed hands tense into a striking pose and he makes quick stumbling steps forward to strike at Ren. Ren has raised his fists, ready to defend himself, before a quick flash of leather jumps in between the two to grab both by the wrists. They stare at the interloper, Akira, in confusion and awe because of his speed.  
“Stop it. Both of you. You're fighting over something stupid.” Akira's stern voice is a bit sobering to the two, realizing that they are dumb for fighting. The two both look away to the floor in some shame, especially not the rest of the group is staring at them in confusion or surprise because of the speed Akira made in order to get in between the two and become the diplomat.   
“Solve your differences when you're both sober, but right now, I think you both need to go home...” He lets go of the two to check his coil and turns to his own two friends, “It's getting late. The last train off this island will be here soon and I don't want to be stranded here when we have other responsibilities.”  
Keisuke simply nods, agreeing. Rin sighs and says, “Alright... You've become the mom friend of the group.”  
“I was forced into it when your half-brother decided to give up on life.” He says a bit bitterly as turns back to get Shiki ready to go. The blond almost glares but composes himself, “I see...” He puts on a smile to hide his irritation and continues, “Well, I guess we'll talk later!” He pats the two closest people to him, Mizuki and Keisuke, on their backs. “Text me, Mizuki.”  
“Sure!” The tattooed man smiles now the tension isn't as prominent, “Stay safe.”  
“We will!” Rin, along with his roommates, leave to go home after saying their goodbyes as well.   
Then what is left is the uncomfortable silence between Aoba, Konoe, Ren and Mizuki. The tattooed man has his shift starting in several minutes and ends up leaving them after excusing himself to go to work, thanking them for coming for drinks. Konoe awkwardly tries to leave, muttering to himself, “Now... how do I get home....” The cat is stumbling and confused as he makes his way out the door. Konoe gazes around, confused because the streets are unfamiliar and too blurry for his conscious mind to decipher into a route to his home.  
“Ren... I don't think he's gonna be able to make it home.”  
Despite the urge to just leave the cat to his own devices out of spite, Ren can't deny Aoba as he leads him over to help the disoriented man in concern. He lightly taps Konoe's shoulder to get his attention. The cat's ears flatten down a bit seeing them, a bit bitter, “What?”  
“Please, come stay with us for the night... I don't think it's safe for you to walk home like this.”  
He snorts with an almost stumble, “After what happened back in there? No, thank you. I don't want to be in that guy's presence for much longer...”   
Ren grits his teeth a bit but calmly says, “I'm sorry... but we're both... concerned about you as a friend.” It sounds a bit painful for him to say those words and Aoba sighs a bit. He does give Ren credit for keeping his cool right now.   
“... Well, I don't really remember how to get home... I guess I could go with you... Just don't do anything weird to me!” Konoe firmly tells them and loses his balance, causing the two to catch him and have to support him with their shoulders.  
Aoba, “What a pain...”  
“You're telling me...”  
They quietly help Konoe back to their home through the blinding, colorful streets of Midorijima.

-...-

Trying to sneak back inside the house is an impossible feat when a furious Tae is waiting at the foot of the stairs inside, “Where have you two been!? You were supposed to be home over an hour ago! Dinner is-” She stops when she sees the guest they've brought, who has his ears folded down and is a bit scared of the fierce woman in his drunken stupor, “... You brought someone home... Who is he?” Her eyes seem to be examining the ears on his head and the occasionally flicking tail.  
The bluenette looks to Ren for help but dark haired man looks away to indicate that he's not gonna be any help appeasing the pink haired old woman. Traitor.  
“Um, Granny... We got caught up with some friends and were visiting Mizuki at the bar. We drank too much and our friend here a bit of a light weight. Can he stay here until tomorrow? He's too wasted to get home safely.”  
Tae seems to consider it, a deep furrow in her brow as she thinks to herself. Her reply is at least positive, “I guess... I'm still disappointed with you two for being late. What is his name?”  
Aoba pats his drunk friend's back in encouragement. He looks to Aoba and then back to Tae and answers, “Konoe. My name is Konoe.”  
“Nice to meet you, rest up. I need some tea.” She makes her way towards the kitchen, muttering with a small shake of her head, “And I thought I'd seen it all.” Aoba nervously chuckles in relief now the threat of any of Tae's wrath is not imminent and guides Konoe up their stairs after telling him that he should get to bed and takes him to his and Ren's shared room. He doesn't resist, tired and trying to not to trip every step.  
Their room is still the usual controlled chaos of clothes and computer parts laying about as well as some dishes from snacks on the coffee table. Neither of them bother to turn on the main light. Aoba recognizes one of the mugs on the table as Ren's and takes note to take it into the kitchen in the morning since it looks like Ren used it to eat ice cream earlier in the day or possibly the day before that and he doesn't want to attract ants. Aoba discards his jacket onto the floor almost as carelessly as Ren does as he lets Konoe drop onto the bed. The cat lands and weakly rolls onto his side with a slight groan of mostly unknown causes.   
“Ren, be careful with him. He might throw up if you just throw him around.”  
He is given silence in return from his friend as he seats himself on the floor and rests his head on the cluttered coffee table.  
He sighs, “I mean it, Ren. Don't ignore me.” He goes over and rubs his shoulder, “What am I gonna do with you?”  
Ren shrugs for his answer, looking like he's gonna fall asleep.   
“You should sleep on the bed.”  
That earns him a raised eyebrow and the response, “I don't think so.”  
“You need rest and I'll sleep on the extra futon.”  
Ren shakes his head, “I'm not sleeping next to him. Never.”  
“Oh, never? Then I'll sleep next to him.”  
“... I know what you're doing and it's not gonna change my mind that easily.”  
Aoba smirks, “I disagree, because I know you hate it when I share the bed with anyone else.”  
Ren now has a glare, “And that gives me more reason to just move him on the spare futon since he's still-” He looks back to see if the cat is awake and, unluckily for Ren, Konoe is dead asleep, “... awake.”  
The bluenette shakes his head in amusement before going over and collapsing on the bed next to his passed out friend, much to Ren's displeasure. Aoba is exhausted but somehow manages to push Konoe over so he has room to rest. This irritates his roommate exponentially since his mind is not in the soberest of states and he pushes his way onto the bed.  
It's cramped and Aoba complains, “Oi, Ren! You can't fit.”  
“Yeah, I can.” He wraps his arms around Aoba's waist and cuddles close.   
Aoba's cheeks turn a bit pink, “D-Dammit Ren...”  
His friend now seems pleased enough to rest his head against the pillow and starts to pass out. Aoba is trapped between the two inebriated men on his small bed. Staring at the ceiling of his moonlit room, he realizes he's too tired to really care how close they are to him. Actually, the body heat from both sides easily replaces the blanket that he normally uses. After several minutes, as Aoba's eyes start to close, suddenly Konoe rolls over and is now cuddled against Aoba as well. So much for starting to fall asleep... it's going to be a long night if he planned on getting any sleep... 

-...-

On the bold nightlife streets of Midorijima, Naitou almost feels at home in the hustle and bustle despite the late hour. He has found himself in the dim alleyway, leaning against a mold and dirt-encrusted wall while staring up at the almost starless sky. His view is mostly blocked by the tall buildings from over-building as the stale smell of the city fills his nose.   
The snow-haired man types into his simple coil and manages to contact his closest friend. He smirks as they inform him that they're nearby so they can go together back onto the mainland. As he waits for them to arrive, he closes his eyes and relaxes a bit. His mind has been too busy with midterms and improving his craft of bass playing to truly relax as of lately. For example, being put into required volunteer work by the FSP. He's not really complaining... Okay, he is complaining because he already has a shit ton of class work to do and having to volunteer (is it really volunteering if you're forced to?) to do basically babysitting of grown adults seems to be a waste of his personal time. With closed eyes, he takes comfort in the darkness behind his lids. The sounds of the city erase his annoyed thoughts for a few minutes.  
“Naitou-kun, I'm here.” The voice of a sweet young woman calls to him. He opens his eyes to confirm who it is. It's his friend.   
He gently smiles, “Hello Sonico, my darling~”   
The well-endowed woman with long pink hair and big eyes smiles back, “Honey, don't be so easy with dropping honorifics. Even if we're friends, we're colleagues first!” A few small gusts of wind ruffle her short blue skirt and white t-shirt.  
Naitou moves the hair that the wind whipped around out of his face and responds, “Right... Let's go.”  
They walk side by side through the streets to the train line to get on the last train off the island. The walk isn't a quiet endeavor because Naitou knows that Sonico knows what he did that day.  
“So, you met 'them' today, didn't you?”  
Monotonously and quickly, he answers, “Yeah...”  
“Now that you've met them, are you ready to come home yet? We can't stay in this makeshift universe you've created forever...”  
His teeth grit tightly. He knows that. He's not a fucking idiot, “Sonico...-chan, I know I can't stay here. But, I've been here for several years and it's comfortable.”  
She stops walking to make him also stop. She stares intently into his eyes with as much seriousness as her babyish face can muster, “Mashing together four universes that don't belong together has consequences. Consequences in which people by the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, could die if the universes just suddenly fall apart.”  
“That's why I have you, don't I? Our powers help each other.”  
She keeps glaring and gets a step or so closer to emphasize her point, “I can only do so much, Naitou. I can influence minds but yours is what matters when creating worlds and I can't control you.” She crosses her arms, “You're the one who thought it was a good idea to combine four universes with fucked up plots, at least two of them being dystopian, and think it would lead to something productive. Also, you forced the Sisians into a world that was destined to hate and fear them just because they're different. I've only been here a couple months and I don't like this world you've created.”  
She had a point but he could argue though, “Our old world had prejudice and hatred, too.”  
“Our world doesn't have to deal with Japan, our home, being torn apart and stitched half-assed together by a flawed education system and weak government. I don't understand you sometimes. I don't see how you can rationalize this as something good. I don't see how you can think that combining supernatural and rational worlds without there being conflict. Also, just because Toue is gone and Japan is somewhat reorganized doesn't mean a new enemy won't rise up to cause chaos again!” Her voice started to raise towards the end, frustrated with her fellow colleague.  
He turns away, not sure how to argue. So he backs away and states, “You're right... I don't see how I can think this way either sometimes...” It's not the entire truth, but it's enough for Sonico to realize she's made her point known and heard.   
“You know, despite being expected to just be an over-sexualized waifu with big tits, you're the most sane and intelligent one of the two of us.” Naitou chuckles.  
“You better believe it. I've been doing this WAY longer than you. Let's go, Bass Man~” She relaxes and chuckles as well, having missed their friendly banter. She quickly goes by his side and takes his hand, ushering him to hurry with her to the train. He complies since it's better than the lecture she would surely continue once they returned home to their apartment.  
The actual truth is this, Naitou is doing all this to escape. Although having a power that allows you to create and manipulate universes puts a lot of pressure on you, the true reason he is running away is because of his duties as a mascot. The short explanation of a long one is that being a mascot takes away the free will of the person, or“character”, in order for them to take the character traits forced upon them by their creators or the fandom. By some miracle bullshit ex-machina, Naitou just happened to be one of the rare pieces of fiction to become aware of it's existence. Sonico is the same but she accepted her role as a mascot and happily conformed to the character given to her. Naitou refused to accept that role so easily, partly due to the influences of his own creators on his personality as well as being influenced by the works that they have created.   
For example, Naitou noticed early on he had a hatred of avocados and a love for bass guitar. These are things that are unique to him but he has traits that can be gathered from the games of his creators. He has a love for pop punk and alternative rock music that matches the soundtracks of the games he represents, specifically the one he knows Akira is from. The most interesting part of being a mascot is being able to feel the emotions of fictional characters as his own. You know the uplifting good endings and soul-crushing bad endings of all the Nitro+Chiral games? Mascots experience them all first hand because they're one and the same as the protagonists in a way.   
It's also very selfish of Naitou. He knows he's probably causing a bit of strife by not being in his own correct universe because the longer he's 'gone' from his own universe, the more easily he is forgotten by the fandom and it brings trouble in that way because without the fandom the games' popularity won't survive well. If Naitou had any say, he'd force Aoba into his mascot position because he's a popular character but that's not beneficial for the other series that have been created. There's no middle ground without Naitou. As much as he knows this, he enjoys his own selfish free will and narcissistic individuality to want to go back to his life as a mascot just yet as well as wants to be able to mess with the lives of the 'Uke Squad' a little while longer. All for the sake of his own personal escapism.   
“Hey don't fall asleep. The train's here.” Sonico scolds him.  
He mutters, “Whatever...”  
“... You know before hand when I said that a new enemy could be coming?”  
Naitou narrows his eyes at her, “Yeah?”  
“I said that because I think there is a new enemy going to show up. I don't know it for sure but I won't ignore my instincts.” She has a certain gaze.  
He nods and adds, “I don't doubt you, this is probably just the beginning of all hell breaking loose.”


End file.
